I’ve some friends who know the “signs and wonders” movement pretty well. We’ve seen the backstage planning of a “miracle” crusade, the selection of those to be healed, the bravado in the green rooms, the falsified twitter feeds, the manipulation of youthful naïveté, and even the post event cash-money exchanges behind hotel doors in some destitute third world nation… smoke and mirrors… all of it.

So, it poses the question, is this form of miracle-manipulation part of biblical history? Well, Acts 8 indicates it was:

When Simon saw how the Spirit was given through the apostles’ laying their hands upon people he offered them money with the words, “Give me this power too, so that if I were to put my hands on anyone he could receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “To hell with you and your money! How dare you think you could buy the gift of God! You can have no share or place in this ministry, for your heart is not honest before God. All you can do now is to repent of this wickedness of yours and pray earnestly to God that the evil intention of your heart may be forgiven. For I can see inside you, and I see a man bitter with jealousy and bound with his own sin! [Acts 8:18-23]

Once we realize miracle manipulation was part of biblical history a subsequent question asks if extra biblical revelation and miracle manipulation was part of church history? Again the answer is affirmative. Miracle manipulation has always been around. In fact, dating back to A.D. 156 one can research the assault on orthodox Christianity by a charlatan named Montanus. Montanus came from Asia Minor along with two “prophetesses” named Prisca and Maximilla. His sect of followers insisted that opposition to their versions of prophecy was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and caused many churches to split. Sound familiar?

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